LANSING – The Michigan State Police announced that there was sharp decline in fatal traffic crashes during the 2014 Fourth of July holiday weekend according to preliminary reports.

"These numbers are preliminary and only reflect those fatalities reported to the MSP as of 11 a.m., Monday, July 7, 2014," Capt. Kari Kusmierz, commander of the MSP Training Division, said in a statement. "The preliminary numbers show a decrease in fatalities from this same holiday period last year."

The 4th of July holiday weekend officially ran from 6 p.m. on July 3, through 11:59 p.m. on July 6. Last year, there were 17 traffic crashes resulted in 19 deaths over the 4th of July weekend.

This year, there were four fatal traffic crashes that resulted in four deaths.

Of the four crashes this year, two of them involved motorcyclists, one was a pedestrian, and the other was a vehicle driver. In those crashes, alcohol was a factor in two of the crashes.